


Cheer Up, Last City!

by Tower_Pigeon_428



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Assisted Suicide, Being escorted off the premises, Gen, Golden Age, Implied Het, Implied Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, Mara Sov is a crime lord tbh, Suicide, Xenophilia, guardian backstory, with guns though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:34:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26297254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tower_Pigeon_428/pseuds/Tower_Pigeon_428
Summary: Not really worth their own separate bits since they clock in well under a thousand words, kinda my threshold for something to be an independent work, but I still ended up liking the finished product.  These are all self-indulgent bits of backstory for my Guardian from Destiny 2.  Most of them are framed as parts of in-universe lore.  I make no claims of quality.This particular piece focuses on how Ylenna, my Guardian, departed the Dreaming City in the distant past...
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	1. Duke of the Dreaming City

The Queen had the edge of a raised brick in her path. It was not a stumbling block, for it was not a problem or an obstacle. Merely an annoyance as she trod over familiar paths that could be easily remedied.

The Countess presented little threat. True, she was among the most venerable of the Awoken, in the Distributary, such that she had not even taken a name and that was accepted. She had not fought or maneuvered for power in the palace as others did in their aeons of exile. What power fell into her lap was enough to sate her, and if it tweaked Mara Sov or Diasyrm or Alis Li so be it. Insulation was enough. 

Her influence had been useful in gathering supporters to leave the Distributary for their new world. But she was old, bitter, and promiscuous. Her words could now poison what they had to build, given the long path of time before them. So the edge would be tamped down. The Master of Crows was much easier piqued than his reigning sibling and accepted the task personally with great relish.

When the door was opened before him, it was not by a retainer, as they had all been dismissed several days before with a month's wages. Nor was The Countess in one of her infamously scant outfits, or even the dishabille of nightwear. She greeted him in exercise attire with an unstrung bow in her hand, from the same hands that had delivered the Wrath's Wish-Ender.

"The Queen does not wish to grace my dwelling with her presence, and instead sends her birds to foul my steps?" she asked as a greeting, her stance open.

Prince Uldren scowled, anticipating handling this task as soon as possible, "Invite me in at least, if you have any sense of respect for the customs of hospitality."

She stood unmoved in the door, orchid colored fingers tracing the deep red of her held bow's sight, "Not if the Queen can not tear herself away from concubines and mysteries long enough to speak with me. I will have nothing from her messenger pigeon, princeling, with her delightful little secrets on your lips."

Unfathomable beauty and the grace of a crow-eagle were not his only gifts, for the warring for the Dreaming City had proved his handiness with guns as well as his speed. It was not enough, for The Countess did not react in a manner befitting one with her life at risk. In later years he would ponder this reaction and learn from it. In the moment, he was hit across in the neck with the full weight of a master's long bow that sent him staggering aside, a moment of haze spilling pistol from his hands.

The target vaulted his extended leg, crunching to the ground. Her Crow watchers had learned too late that the objective of a conman is not to distract but to divert. So focused on the moving shells they did not expect the player to upset the table. Prepared for this, her ship lay docked in secret to take her beyond the reach of Mara Sov to The Spider's shores, where he was willing to welcome an inoffensive and attractive woman who let him test the boundaries forming with the new Reef dwellers.

How does one learn of these matters, oh reader mine? In those days great beasts swarmed the Dreaming City, and many lips fed delightful truths to them unaware of how they might spread. Do not dismay, listener, for is the discomfort not worth the tale?


	2. The Last Goodbye and All That

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not really worth their own separate bits since they clock in well under a thousand words, kinda my threshold for something to be an independent work, but I still ended up liking the finished product. These are all self-indulgent bits of backstory for my Guardian from Destiny 2. Most of them are framed as parts of in-universe lore. I make no claims of quality.
> 
> This particular bit was written first out of everything I've posted/not posted. Don't know why. It chronologically would follow Chapter 1 by some number of years, in which Ylenna leaves behind her former life in what could only be described as a suicide attempt. Tonally, the intent was to mimic the hagiographic style of Victorian and Edwardian historians. It should not be taken as "truth" so much as an interpretation of it by a writer enamored with her rise as a Guardian.

The Labors of St. Ylenna in the Realms of the Real  
by Henris the Protector, House of Judgement

Chapter VI

Many years before the war with the Taken, perhaps around the time of the Reef Wars, The Countess was dining in the den of The Spider as was common those days when He was in a jocular mood and wished for companionship, as She had more grace with Eliksni, especially of his powerful size, than any number of lesser harlots found in Kingship Dock's whorehouses, though any number of them were exceptionally skilled at the various pleasures known only to the Awoken. 

Dinner had been a sumptuous affair, of the quality not seen since the Kings fell from their great heights and The Great Machine's shadow left our homes, and standards of eating seldom seen since on the Shore. It had been finished languidly served alongside fruit brandy, one of the few beverages both The Countess and The Spider could agree on as suitable for their palates. 

Adjourned to the parlor, they had opened up the counting box and were taking turns passing small sums of a few thousand Glimmer between each other talking business of the times. Mostly in those days it is said the topic was of the Ahamkara and the expansion of opportunities within the Dreaming City. Somehow the question turned to The City and of Earth, of which The Spider was expanding his collection of items. The Countess demurred on most subjects but admitted the game of dice and tokens she enjoyed was a product of humanity.

Who first spoke of The Guardians is unknown to the author, but they too were spoken of. The Spider has acquired some of his famed collection of Ghosts already and showed them to The Countess, who remarked that while it took great effort to kill a Guardian, she suspected it was a great deal more interesting to live untethered by the casual threats to life inherent on the Reef. The power would be great and experiences unhindered by mortality, she avowed.

The Spider cautiously agreed that it would be an interesting experience, though he was firmly of the belief his own power and games were greater than any wielded by The Risen, or any other, short of perhaps The Awoken Queen, perhaps his machinations extended beyond hers in the realms of the real as well. 

The Countess made her request then, asking that if she was to die, she would do it in the time and manner of her choosing rather than wait for Siviks, Lost to None, Mara Sov, or her Crows for some inglorious messy demise. 

She offered him her own weapon, the handcannon Silk Gown, with its fine inlays of amethyst into the purple pattern on its white enamel body, designed by the legendary Black Armory, wishing him to make it a clean shot to the heart. The Spider, from any number of concerns, protested, but on her insistence he shot her there in the parlor by where the great leather chair that fit his frame once sat. Her last words were often said to be 'better to die as a whore than a queen,' though this may have been an exaggeration playing on her well known antipathy to the Awoken Queen.

In keeping with her wishes, she was laid out in the docks for several days to see if a Ghost would deem her worthy of the Light's Blessing. None living today admit they saw this as likely, as they believed her wish had been a suicidal desire brought on by the pressure applied then by the Dreaming City on her business and her immense consumption of intoxicants. However, a ghost saw within her the great potential they seek for The Great Machine's lightbearers, and their ability to do wonderous and stupendous deeds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please direct all complaints to this webzone. I have an Ahamkara problem.


	3. Performance Standards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not really worth their own separate bits since they clock in well under a thousand words, kinda my threshold for something to be an independent work, but I still ended up liking the finished product. These are all self-indulgent bits of backstory for my Guardian from Destiny 2. Most of them are framed as parts of in-universe lore. I make no claims of quality.
> 
> Dipping far back into the past, a shard of Ylenna's origins on Earth, long lost to her through time and several second chances too many. Framed in the style of the Golden Age communications we've seen.

_"Gooood afternoon Failsafe! I am Korvettenkapitän Gudrun Hauer. SOLSECCENT has asked me... To...."_  


YIZ606E64APGA04||Off-site Backup||SOLSECCENT HR||Non-critical copy||Exodus Black

**Name:** Hauer, Gudrun Zoe  
 **Assignment:** Project 322L Emergency Backup Artificial Intelligence Systems  
 **Agency:** Deutsche Marine  
 **Previous Fitness Rating:** Exceeds Fully

**Biographical Summary:** KKpt Hauer was born on ■■■■■■■ in Kiel, FRG. She attended the Mürwik Naval School and Helmut Schmidt University, obtaining a Master's Degree in Computer Science in [redacted]. Following that she underwent pilot training and ground instruction for space service at Nordholz Naval Air Station, then spaceflight training at Jähn Base on Luna. She was assigned to Naval Space Flight Squadron 2 from ■■■■■■■ to ■■■■■■■, pursued advanced study in artificial intelligence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in ■■■■■■■. She served as Executive Officer of Naval Space Flight Squadron 6 until ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ and then served as a staff officer for Naval Space Wing 5 from ■■■■■■■ to ■■■■■■■. Owing to her experience working with AI development she was assigned to Sol Security Central Command in ■■■■■■■ as a project officer with regard to vetting AI created for Project FAILSAFE. 

KKpt Hauer was not promoted to Fregattenkapitän in two prior selection periods. 

Fitness Summary: KKpt Hauer's job performance has been excellent. She handles the nuance of interaction with developmental AI with experience, grace and dexterity. Unfortunately she has shown an increasing hostility to her co-workers and towards planetary policy in the last two years. This has severely impacted her performance evaluation this cycle. See individual performance categories for detail. 

-A. Bray 

**Overall Fitness Rating:** Minimally Satisfactory  
**Corrective Action:** See attached recommendations.  
**Notes:** KKpt Hauer resigned 12/■■■■■■■ from the Deutsche Marine to pursue opportunities with the Exodus Project. Placed on the Retired List as Fregattenkapitän, 1/■■■■■■■. 

STOP YIZ606E64APGA04 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please direct all complaints to this webzone. I'm too into the Golden Age.


	4. Public Discourse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not really worth their own separate bits since they clock in well under a thousand words, kinda my threshold for something to be an independent work, but I still ended up liking the finished product. These are all self-indulgent bits of backstory for my Guardian from Destiny 2. Most of them are framed as parts of in-universe lore. I make no claims of quality.
> 
> Ylenna expresses some concern about a former mentor and a friend (whether said friend wants her or not).

A tree is a poor metaphor for a thinking being. A tree may bear up under adverse conditions, surviving on a cliff face or a desert by becoming warped and bent to survive. The tree may suffer some health effects but the tree does not reason. It does not talk, it does not plot. Usually. It exchanges carbon dioxide for oxygen and soaks up water. When a person is warped their being changes, inevitably. When they do not break but twist… Whether it is their philosophy, their words, their actions, or all of them. I worry about these warped people, feel the love I did for them no less than before but, I also fear that like a turret bent in its mount we may not realize the danger to us both until the fight begins.

-Ylenna of the Tangled Shore to Sewer Outlet Grate A665-78-2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's a sewer grate record conversations? Up to your imagination I suppose, but there are quite a few suspects... As usual please direct all complaints to this webzone.

**Author's Note:**

> Please direct all complaints to this webzone.


End file.
